A Different Kind Of Love
by The Symbol of Faith
Summary: Their relationship was doomed from the beginning. But with Abhijeet playing matchmaker for his best friend, Daya knew he couldn't give up. Nothing seemed to go right, but one thing was certain - this was the most complicated case he had ever worked on. Soulmate!(AU) Slightly insensitive!ACP Smuggler!Shreya. Established Relationships.
1. Characters

**AN: This story was written solely due to Topaz007's request that i write one on the theme "Romance" with Daya/Shreya as the main couple.**

 **While the story won't be too long, it won't be short either. I first planned to finish typing down the whole story before publishing, but seeing how i find less and less time for myself and my recreational writing, i am publishing as many as chapters i can as soon as they are typed.**

 **Here is the usual character list. Move on ahead if you wish to read, or bail now. Please leave a review if you enjoyed :)**

* * *

Characters:

CID Team

ACP Pradyuman

Senior Inspector Abhijeet

Senior Inspector Daya

Inspector Fredericks

Sub-Inspector Vivek

Sub-Inspector Tasha

Dr. Salunkhe

Dr. Tarika

Other Main Characters:

Rajat

Purvi

Nikhil

Shreya

Vineet

Jay (Genderbent!Jaywanti)

Other Characters:

Mrs Fredericks

Dr Sonali

Nakul (Only slight mentions)

Mrs Pradyuman (Only slight mentions)


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: Here you go! The first chapter is finally typed out. I am a novice at writing Romance. So any pointers -absolutely any - will be helpful.**

 **Also, please be honest in your reviews. If you feel the romance is crap - let me know. And any ideas would be appreciated too.**

 **This chapter is just the beginning and doesn't have any aspects of romance in it, but it will be clearly visible from chapter 2 and onwards.**

"Dialogues"

 _'Thoughts'_

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

 _Soul-mates are something that every human upon this Earth are blessed or perhaps cursed with, since the very beginning. We bear a soul-mark upon our skin, etched in a pure white and silver-ish hue. It signifies that our partner; undifferentiated by caste, creed, position in society, or even gender; is somewhere out there. That somewhere on this Earth, another human being exists that bears the twin of our own mark._

 _The mark is like a scar upon our flesh, and perhaps, it really is. After all, what is a scar but the memory of a painful wound that refuses to be forgotten?_

 _It has been proven countless times that one can be the happiest only with their soul-mate. However, I feel as if it is a preordained fate that I am resigned to. For many and perhaps most – including my best friend – having a soul-mate is considered a blessing. To me – it is a curse._

– An excerpt from the diary of Senior Inspector Daya

* * *

The horn beeped loudly, the red lights flashed, but the bike showed no sign of stopping. Instead, it sped up, making their pursuers swear colourfully.

"Speed up! Speed up!" The Chief of Police of Thane District barked to his subordinate. "And call up the Chief of Mumbai Police," he ordered another officer, "tell him that two dangerous criminals are heading towards Mumbai District border. If they cross it, they become their responsibility."

"Yes, sir!"

The police jeep chased the criminals as far as they could, but soon they disappeared among the masses and the cops had to give up.

"What do we do now, sir?" an officer asked his senior, "We lost track of the bike and by now they must have disposed it off and stolen another vehicle."

"I agree. But we can do nothing now," the chief replied, "They are most probably headed towards Mumbai. We have already alerted them. They will handle the case now."

* * *

Vivek laughed loudly. Freddy had just finished recounting an old case of theirs where Daya had been dared to dress up as a woman. Apparently the officers were looking for someone who sold Taipan snakes and had gone in disguise for it. Acting on a dare given by Abhijeet, Daya had dressed up in a voluminous skirt and blouse, complete with a blond wig and lipstick.

Daya had covered his slightly red face with his hands in embarrassment as Freddy told the story. Tasha had tried not to burst out laughing by placing her hands over her mouth, but soon lost control and joined Vivek, their peals of laughter echoing in the room.

"Be thankful ACP sir is not here," Daya said in a half-stern, half-amused tone, "he does not tolerate such loud noises or laughter in general. Especially in the mornings."

"Oh, come on, sir!" Vivek protested, "You have to admit, it was funny!"

Freddy chuckled, "Here's another incident –"

"Oh no!" Daya exclaimed, "That's enough! How about I tell a story now?"

Tasha leaned forward in her chair, eager to know – while Freddy, recognising the teasing glint in his eyes, gulped and shook his head.

"Ah, sir. We should get to work, don't you think?" Freddy tried before his senior could regale them with embarrassing – although hilarious – tales of him.

"Freddy sir, we are free now," Vivek reminded him, "No work at the moment. And Daya sir is about to tell us a wonderful story."

Daya smirked as he began, "Once, Freddy had bought and stored a box of sweets in our kitchenette. But he had not told any of us, you see –"

Just then, the Bureau door opened and Abhijeet stormed in, the proverbial thundercloud hovering above his head. The juniors stood up to greet him good morning and Daya offered a smile from where he was seated. However, it was all ignored as the senior inspector went to his seat and sat down.

Then, as if an afterthought, Abhijeet got up from his chair and entered ACP Pradyuman's cabin. The ACP had gone to Delhi for an important meeting and left him in charge as the acting ACP. Though he had never sat in the ACP's chair out of respect for his boss, he did occupy the cabin as all important and necessary files that would be required were stored there.

Freddy and Vivek exchanged a glance, wondering what was wrong with the usually cheerful detective. Daya too frowned at his friend's behaviour. He looked at his watch. Ten o'clock. Two hours after reporting time.

"He's late," Daya commented idly.

"Abhijeet sir never arrives so late," Tasha said, "Did something happen in the morning?"

It was a rhetorical question of course, since no one knew if anything _did_ happen, but Vivek shook his head, indicating his ignorance on the matter.

Daya got up and moved towards the cabin. He knocked to announce his presence. Abhijeet, who was staring into space, did not register it and Daya simply shrugged and let himself in, closing the door shut behind him. He took a seat next to him and waited for his friend to take notice of him.

After a while, when Abhijeet still showed no signs of coming out of his trance, Daya shook his shoulder gently.

Abhijeet blinked and snapped at him reflexively, "What?"

Daya raised an eyebrow at the rude tone and Abhijeet grimaced,

"Sorry," he apologised, "just had something on my mind. I didn't mean to snap at you."

Daya nodded, forgiving him and asked, "What's got you in such a mood? Did something happen on the way?"

Abhijeet sighed, "I was called to the Police Station,"

' _What?!'_ Daya thought in astonishment, ' _Someone tried to arrest Abhijeet?'_

Seeing the expression on his friend's face, Abhijeet hurried on, "Not for what you think! The Chief of Mumbai Police Department wanted to talk with me. Apparently, two dangerous criminals have crossed the Mumbai District border. Thane Police called to inform them last night."

"Oh," Daya replied thoughtfully, "So he just wanted to keep us informed then. Did he give you a copy of their file records?"

Abhijeet nodded and pulled out the file from an inside coat pocket, along with a brown envelope.

"This is the file with records of all their past crimes and details," Abhijeet passed the file to him and tapping the brown envelope, he said, "and this contains their photographs."

Daya accepted them and frowned, "Don't evade the question. Two criminals entering Mumbai are not the reason for your bad mood. They can't be. So, what is it?"

Abhijeet appeared to be in a dilemma. He opened his mouth a couple of times but closed it before saying anything. His hands clenched and unclenched spasmodically, before he exhaled loudly and shook his head.

"It's nothing," he said. Seeing the disbelieving expression on Daya's face, he amended, "Well, it's not nothing. But, it's not important. I'm fine."

"You are not fine," Daya countered, easily picking out the lie, "It's bothering you. That means it's important. But if you do not want to tell me about it right now, that's fine. I'm ready to listen whenever you wish to tell me though."

Abhijeet gave his friend a grateful smile.

"Let's go and discuss this case with the others," Daya continued.

With that, the two detectives moved out of the cabin and taking a seat at the table in the centre – where the others were seated – told them about the news that the Chief of Mumbai Police had received.

The photograph that had been troubling Abhijeet since his visit to the Police Station was slowly pushed to the back of his mind as they immersed themselves into their daily routine.

* * *

The CID was technically not involved in the new case that the Mumbai Police Department had been notified of, but they kept themselves informed just in case.

The criminals were a part of a small gang that mostly stole and/or smuggled old historic artefacts out of the country. They were not widely known among the public and therefore the police found it difficult to protect them, as the gang was not averse to injuring innocent bystanders to escape with their loot.

The ignorant public did not truly consider them to be a threat and were unconcerned about any robberies as long as they did not have anything of any historic value. Museums, collectors, families that still possessed ancient heirlooms – these were the ones who maintained caution.

Two weeks had passed since the news reached Mumbai and the CID had left the case in the hands of the police. They had their own case of kidnapping to worry about, after all.

"I am sure, that is the only person who had the motive _and_ opportunity to kidnap Mr Dhawal," said Vivek earnestly. "We can raid his go-downs. We are sure to find Dhawal."

Daya shook his head, "It is not necessary that Mr Kamal has kept Mr Dhawal in a go-down."

"But sir," Freddy pitched in, "it makes sense. Kamal has been frequenting his go-downs quite often. It could be possible."

"Don't forget," Abhijeet entered the conversation, "we need to find Dhawal before the business conference held on Tuesday. He is going to speak there and if he is not found by then, we will have to handle the press too."

"That just means that we can't waste time, right?" confirmed Vivek. "So, let's go, sir. At least, it's a lead…"

"But we only have a day and half before the conference," Tasha reminded them, "So if it turns out to be a false lead, we will be back at square one."

Everyone looked to Abhijeet for the final word. Should they follow up on Vivek's suspicion or continue to invest time in further investigation?

Freddy and Vivek were of the opinion that Kamal was the kidnapper, while Tasha felt otherwise. Abhijeet looked at Daya, what was his stance on this?

"Boss, Kamal is fishy," Daya answered Abhijeet's silent question, "and we don't have time to waste –"

"But that's exactly it!" Tasha interrupted, "If it turns out that it is _not_ Mr Kamal, we will have very little time to get to the real kidnapper. Abhijeet sir, I know you have your doubts too, let us concentrate on investigation."

In such times, it was up to the ACP to make the final decision as to how the team would proceed. Since ACP Pradyuman was not here, that responsibility fell to Abhijeet.

Now, Abhijeet was a great officer with remarkable leadership qualities and a capability to lead the team along with fine deduction skills to boast of. But in the end, he was human.

Abhijeet should have made the decision on his own, like he had always done in such situations. Despite being the minority in this decision, his orders would be carried out due to his seniority. He knew, Daya was currently opposing him in taking the next course of action, but that had been the case many times before and he had not hesitated to issue orders against it.

But, in the end, he hesitated and allowed Vivek's theory to be tested.

* * *

"Please, you are crowding, leave!" Abhijeet tried to be heard over the babble of reporters.

"Sir, you have been in charge of this case since the past five days. How long will it take to find Mr Dhawal?"

"Has CID been stumped finally?"

"Are you really any close to finding Mr Dhawal's kidnapper?"

"Yes, we are on it," replied an irritated Abhijeet, "Let us continue our work. For that, you need to _leave_!"

But the reporters did not budge.

It turned out that Kamal had only been going to the go-downs frequently to drink booze and make merry with a few…friends his wife disapproved of. Set back in their investigation, the CID had been unable to find Mr Dhawal by Tuesday and the press had finally got wind of it. Come Wednesday morning, they had crowded outside the CID Bureau to demand answers.

"Please, calm down!" Abhijeet shouted over the din, "My officers are still on the case. Anytime now, the kidnappers will be found and Mr Dhawal will be returned safely."

"But, sir –"

"How long do you think –?"

"Can you tell us –?"

"Where is –?"

"You have been –"

"What is going on here?" An authoritative and very familiar voice called out.

It must have been one of the few times the Senior Inspector was _not_ relieved to see him – ACP Pradyuman had just walked into the bureau to see a horde of reporters.

Faced with two senior and irritated officers, as well as two bulky watchmen who had just arrived, the reporters seemed to lose courage and were quickly shooed out. It was as ACP Pradyuman was addressing the last lingering news agents that Abhijeet's phone rang.

"Hello, Daya?" Abhijeet's voice was hopeful.

"Yes," Daya answered the unasked question, "Dhawal is safe and Ritik turned out to be the kidnapper. You and Tasha were right, Ritik was a more likely suspect than Kamal."

"That's good," sighed Abhijeet, "I handled the press for now, but tell Dhawal to do damage control on his end too. And come straight to the Bureau. ACP sir is back."

He ended the conversation and turned to face his superior who was wearing a very disgruntled expression.

"What is going on Abhijeet?" ACP sir questioned his favourite officer, "The first day back and I'm faced with bad press!"

"Don't worry, sir," Abhijeet tried to reassure him, "it will be handled. I am afraid it's due to Mr Dhawal's kidnapping case."

"Dhawal? The prosperous business man?"

"Yes, sir. Yesterday he was supposed to give a speech at a conference. He failed to appear, so the press is hounding us for details."

"And is Dhawal found?"

"Daya just phoned me to confirm that, sir. Both Dhawal and the kidnapper are in our custody."

"Good. Once everyone returns, you will explain this to me in detail." With that, ACP Pradyuman retired into his office and shut the glass door none too gently.

Abhijeet grimaced at the thought of what was to come upon him soon.

* * *

"Am I to understand that all that bad press could have been avoided had you given them an order to continue our normal investigation?" ACP Pradyuman asked with deceptive calm.

The CID officers stood in the ACP's cabin in silence. They had returned an hour ago with their captives and proceeded to explain, to their senior, about the case once all formalities were completed.

"Yes, sir," replied Abhijeet.

"Sir, it is not entirely his fault," Daya tried to explain, "Kamal seemed a likely suspect and the majority of us thought so –"

"But that is not what Abhijeet thought, am I correct?" ACP interrupted his junior, "Tell me!"

"No, sir," Abhijeet confirmed, "I did not think so,"

"Yet you did not order them to continue the investigation, but allowed a raid on Kamal's go-down instead."

"I'm sorry sir. It was a miscalculation," Abhijeet apologised.

The ACP seemed to have almost calmed down when Vivek spoke up hesitantly, "It was my idea originally, sir. And we were pressurized with a time limit. Abhijeet sir is not entirely at fault –"

Vivek stopped at ACP's raised hand that called for silence.

"You and Tasha may be relatively new to this department Vivek," ACP told him, "but Abhijeet, Daya and Fredericks have been working for many years and are no strangers to work under pressure or in a time limit. You presented an idea – and it was a good one – but the final decision is to be made by the officer in charge."

He looked at Abhijeet, who nodded, "I understand, sir. I should not have hesitated to give my order. All the bad press could have been avoided."

"But it is only a little bit of bad press, sir," Freddy said in a slightly reproachful manner, "It will blow over in a couple of days."

That was clearly not the right thing to say.

"It is not just a bit of negativity, but the reputation of the department," the ACP began in his lecturing tone, "When I am on leave from office, I leave Abhijeet in charge as acting ACP because I trust him to make the right decisions, to carry out my orders, to make correct judgements and to uphold our reputation. CID's reputation."

Everyone was quiet and ACP's harsh tones did not fail to bring out the reaction he expected from Abhijeet.

The dark skinned officer grit his teeth and bowed his head slightly, "You are right, sir. It was my responsibility to make sure everything went smoothly in your absence. I failed this time. It will not happen again."

There was a moment of silence.

"You best go cool down, Abhijeet. Leave your leave application on my desk." ACP said with narrowed eyes.

The rather rude dismissal had everyone returning to their own desks and continue on with work. A few minutes later, Abhijeet walked out of the Bureau, leaving the aforementioned application the ACP's desk.

As Abhijeet walked out, he shrugged his shoulders, trying to rid himself of his frustrations in the simple movement. It did not work however, and he thought that a trip to the shooting range was in order.

A tiny, folded picture stashed into the senior inspector's wallet was completely forgotten in the haze of their demanding work and overbearing boss.

* * *

 **AN: For those who feel that ACP Pradyuman was a bit too harsh - I am sorry. I have already mentioned in the summary : he is slightly insensitive , or you can say that his duty-sworn mind will accept nothing but the best from his officers and has thus made him harsh.**

 **Plus it was needed for the plot. Don't worry though, he will be getting an earful about it soon.  
**

 **So...to the main part now. How was it? Did you like it? I hope it's not too boring...**

 **It will be interesting as the plot progresses I assure you :)**

 **To Topaz007 : Hope it is living up to your expectations :) And thank you for your patience in waiting for my sporadic updates. I will try to have the next chapter up soon - but no promises :P**

 **PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! :)**

 **Cheers!**


	3. Chapter 2

**AN: I'm so, so, so, so, sorry for the huge gap! Like seriously! I have no excuse! I had already written this chapter and was just too lazy to type it down. Plus...exams. And I've kind of gotten addicted to this show called "Detective Conan" - quite similar to CID in the mystery factor, but quite different too.**

 **Now, moving onwards with the story...**

 **Enjoy~**

 **.**

"Dialogues"

 _'Thoughts'_

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

 _Freddy and his wife were not soul-mates. They had met each other in college and liked and respected each other. Throughout their courtship, and then marriage, both felt a very real fear of either of their soul-mates appearing._

 _You were most compatible with your mate and the prospect of one of them leaving the other made them quite insecure. But as the years passed that fear became non-existent._

 _When I asked him, he replied that though he would be most compatible with his mate, they would technically still be a stranger at first. While with his wife, he'd had years to build an understanding with and come to know all her virtues and vices. No soul-mate would be able to break the sacred bond of love and marriage._

 _That gave me a whole new understanding of love and respect. It is formed over the span of years and can withstand any difficulty it comes across._

 _Perhaps that is why, I, who will stubbornly refuse the concept of bonding with a mate, have absolutely no problem in accepting my 'bond' with Abhijeet; my brother in all but blood._

 _Abhijeet is not my soul-mate but I know that no 'mate' will ever come between us and the reason is simple – because we love each other. Just, a different kind of love…_

– An excerpt from the diary of Senior Inspector Daya

* * *

Abhijeet punched a closed fist into the cushion and mindful of the cup of coffee he held in his other hand, refrained from using it to land another stress-relieving blow into the unfortunate pillow.

"Will you stop that?" his soul-mate said, exasperated. "Didn't you blow off some steam at the shooting range already?"

He took a deep breath to calm down and then sipped his coffee. He looked over at the woman he was blessed to have as a mate and mumbled an almost inaudible apology. She sighed and let it be. After all, his anger was somewhat justified and she knew how fragile male egos were.

Abhijeet had first met her; a young, slightly mischievous, smart woman with great aspirations; in his line of work. Soon, the respect he had for her knowledge in her field of specialization turned into attraction. She had been unsure of his intentions at first, but had sportingly exchanged flirtatious comments with him.

It was quite a few years later that both of them plucked the courage to bare their marks to each other. Overjoyed at finding them identical, they had entered a secret relationship.

Secret, because in his line of work, anyone close to him would put them in danger. And a CID officer always had many enemies. The only one who knew of their relationship as mates was Daya. All their other colleagues still assumed that they were good friends with the occasional flirty comments thrown in.

Abhijeet put his cup down and gave a side glance at the wall clock. 10:30 p.m.

"Stay the night," she told him when she too realised how late it was, "Dinner is almost done. You can set the table."

Abhijeet smiled, "Thank you, Tarika."

* * *

It was late, everyone had already left. Well, not everyone. ACP Pradyuman was still in his cabin, poring over a few old files, brow furrowed in deep concentration. Senior Inspector Daya on the other hand, had no work to keep him at the Bureau. After a few steps towards the door, he turned around and made a beeline to the ACP's cabin.

"Daya?" ACP Pradyuman was surprised, "You haven't left?" He checked the time before continuing, "Do you have something to say to me?"

"Don't you think you were a bit too harsh on Abhijeet this morning, sir?" Daya cut straight to the point.

Seeing the ACP ready to respond and expecting a similar answer as to what he gave this morning, Daya interrupted, "And sir, I know you left him with the responsibility as acting ACP, but he is human. He is bound to make mistakes; he has led us quite well in your absence before, with rarely any misjudgements in his record. One mistake and…Why so harsh on him?"

ACP narrowed his eyes, "I have a reason to be harsh, Daya. It is because I expect great things from him. Which is why I will not allow failure. As ACP, he will not be allowed to make mistakes."

Daya faltered. Did he just hear that correctly? As ACP?

"What do you mean by that, sir?" Daya did not like the way that question came out, so hesitant and unsure, "Are you – are you retiring?"

ACP blinked at that, surprised. "Did Abhijeet not tell you? Why he is staying in Mumbai CID?"

"What do you mean?"

"Abhijeet has received many offers, in other districts and states, for a higher position post. If he relocates headquarters, he will likely be granted the post of ACP. Why else would he stay in Mumbai but to gain experience?"

Daya let out a disbelieving sound as the ACP continued.

"Once he learns all I can teach him, he will accept one of those offers and move. I am doing my best to give him that experience and that is why I must be so harsh."

"Did Abhijeet tell you this, sir?"

"It is the logical conclusion, Daya. Why else would he keep rejecting those offers?"

Daya laughed; it was not a pleasant one however. He could not believe how blind the ACP was.

ACP Pradyuman did not understand the cause for Daya's laughter and Daya obliged and explained.

"You have misunderstood it completely, sir. With the experience Abhijeet has in the police force, his pay is almost, not quite but nearly, same as an ACP's. He doesn't need promotion to gain more income. Relocation? Why would he do that when he is well settled here? For respect? He will be, and is, more respected here than he would be as the ACP of another city."

Daya could see that his words had not completely convinced his Boss. And since he was trying to keep Tarika and Abhijeet's relationship a secret till they were ready to reveal it, he refrained from giving that as another reason.

"You are right," Daya conceded slightly, "he does stay here because he has much to learn from you. As do I. But it is not only that which keeps him here. He has family here – Me. You. The CID team. He works very well with us. Why would he leave all that and go?"

Seeing the ACP's expression, Daya gave a final push, "Abhijeet is not so fickle. Simply power, authority and monetary gain are not are not good enough attractions when he has much stronger bonds that keep him here."

The two CID officers looked at each other for a long moment. ACP Pradyuman had been given a lot to think about and would have dismissed Daya to ponder upon this new revelation had his junior not continued. Daya seemed to be on a roll today.

"I think you were just being selfish…and perhaps, selfless too in a way. You wanted him to stay in CID Mumbai and would have stopped him using an excuse of 'less experience' to keep him here to 'further guide him'. And he would have obeyed…you knew that. But at the same time you didn't want to stop him from getting a promotion – giving him more responsibility and authority to make sure he has the necessary experience – even if it meant he would have to transfer, right?"

Daya gave him a sardonic smile, just toeing the line of insolence, "People are not so singular minded, sir," _'Unlike your son'_ Daya refrained from saying – because there was insolence and then there was _insolence_ , "Rising up in life is important, but what is the point in it, if you have to leave everything behind to do so? You would be losing more than what you're gaining. He would not transfer sir. Not now, not ever."

Finally allowing the ACP some respite and time to think things over, Daya bobbed his head once, "Good night, sir," and left immediately. Because, this had certainly been an eye-opener to him.

* * *

The next day dawned and it was as if nothing whatsoever had happened yesterday. Daya and Abhijeet had arrived together as usual, at 8 o' clock sharp, and signed their attendance on a roster. Wishing ACP Pradyuman a good morning, they sat at their respective desks and began to work.

Vivek and Tasha exchanged subtle glances from where they were already seated, doing paperwork, before reaching to the conclusion that the previous day's events was mostly likely brushed under the carpet. Freddy arrived twenty minutes later, quite obviously late and the specks of mud and tiny coriander leaves stuck on his shirt cuffs indicated the reason for his tardiness.

Yes, a perfectly normal day indeed.

Now, all they needed was a crime, a mystery, and they were set.

Tring! Tring!

Ah, there we go!

"Hello, ACP Pradyuman speaking," the call was answered in a mechanical tone before he straightened up and said sharply, "I see. Do not touch the body and stop all witnesses from leaving. We shall be there soon."

The other officers had already gathered outside the ACP's cabin, waiting for his orders to get moving.

"Double murder," ACP explained to his colleagues, "Man and wife, a young couple. Vivek, stay here. I require your help to complete the pending paperwork. The rest of you, go!"

"Shanti? That's their maid?" Tasha questioned the neighbour.

"Yes," came the reply, "she left around midnight as always and I saw Mansi, the lady of the house, tell her to take the day off today, as I was putting the garbage out. This morning, when I knocked to borrow some sugar; you see, we're out of it and I had to prepare breakfast and tea soon; there was no response."

"And then? How did you realise they were dead?" Tasha asked the distraught woman.

"I went to the back door. The kitchen is only a room away and I thought Mansi must not have heard me if she was cooking. But the back door was open. And I was surprised, you see, they never leve the door open so carelessly!"

"Oh?"

"Yes, and when I walked in further, calling out her name, I – I saw them! Dead! On the living room floor… God! I will never be able to forget that empty look in her eyes! The glassy stare of those expressive orbs –"

She cut herself off with a sob and put her hands over her mouth as a few tears spilled down her cheeks.

"There, there," Tasha tried to console her, "You did the right thing by calling us immediately. I won't trouble you for answers anymore, today. Just tell me your name and your phone number along with those of your family members."

"Yes. My name is Akansha, my husband is Jeevan. He works in a corporate office, so I'll give you that number and our landline number."

* * *

Reporting back to the Bureau, they received permission to continue on with the investigation and split up into two groups. Daya and Freddy would ask around the neighbourhood to see if anyone noticed anything suspicious last night, while Abhijeet and Tasha would go to the maid's house to question her.

As of now, she seemed to be the most likely suspect. She could have returned last night after the owners of the house had retired to bed and killed them. She certainly had the opportunity; all that was left was the motive.

The murder weapon was a kitchen knife, likely to have been picked up from the kitchen as she moved from the back door to the living room. Having worked in the house, she would know where the utensil was kept.

So, the officers departed; Daya and Freddy on foot while Abhijeet and Tasha took the bike.

* * *

As soon as the bike purred down to a stop, Tasha got off and walked purposefully towards the slum-like houses, asking for Shanti to a random person as he passed by. Abhijeet parked the bike to a side, putting the keys into his coat pocket, intending to follow Tasha when he bumped into a woman.

Carrying a large stack of what looked like old newspapers, she obviously wouldn't have seen the Inspector. The both of them toppled on to the ground, the papers strewn around them. She let out a yelp, clutching onto his coat tightly for the brief moment as they fell. Then, she scrambled up hurriedly, apologising over and over again in obvious embarrassment.

Tasha, the sole witness of the incident, quirked her lips up in a smile before schooling her face when her senior glared at her. Abhijeet excused himself and took a look at the woman.

A scarf over her head kept her hair out of her face and a handkerchief was tied around her nose. Her 'dupatta' was tied securely around her waist. It looked like she had been cleaning.

"I'll help you pick them up," Abhijeet offered, looking at the papers strewn around.

The woman shook her head, "Oh no! That's alright! I'll do it myself." And she bent down to pick them up to emphasize her point.

Abhijeet nodded and hurried off after Tasha. They were here for an investigation after all, no need to spend time on frivolous things. They walked a while, turning around a few corners, moving deeper into the maze like arrangement of houses, when he suddenly stopped in shock. Something had just clicked in his mind.

For the brief moment that he had looked at the girl as she bent down, he had noticed a silvery mark on her neck – just near her ear and slightly below it. Normally, the brown tresses would have covered it up, but due to the scarf that kept her hair pinned up, it had been clearly visible.

And the mark had been one he'd seen before: A double headed hammer with a flaming hallow surrounding its handle.

He remembered, nearly two weeks ago – _the smugglers…a visit to the police station…the brief discussion with Daya…a photograph that he had hidden…the soul-mark…_

Abhijeet turned around, breaking out of his stupor and disregarding the fact that they had nearly reached Shanti's house, he began running.

"Tasha, quick! That woman with the newspapers is an out-law, one of the artefact smugglers. She may not have gone far; we can apprehend her!"

They ran back, the confusing roads hindering them, but when they reached, the papers were still lying on the ground. But the bike – the CID bike – had been ignited and kicked started. Perched upon it were a man and woman – the same woman Abhijeet had collided into. Seeing their approach, the two of them only sped up their get-away.

Abhijeet's hand slid into his coat pocket, realising that the bike key was well and truly gone. The woman might have stolen it when they'd fallen. He and Tasha gave chase, but the bike soon out-paced them.

"Damn!" Tasha muttered angrily, "What do we do now? I can't believe those smugglers stole the bike!" Looking at Abhijeet for guidance seemed futile though, for he still seemed to be half in shock about something. "Sir? Sir!"

"Huh –? Oh," collecting himself, Abhijeet spoke in a slight detached manner, "we shall continue what we came here for – questioning the maid – and then ask about to see if we can get any information on the smugglers. It did not seem as if they had planned to steal a bike, but as if it was a coincidence."

Walking along with Tasha, back to the maid's house, he continued, "They might have been staying here temporarily and suddenly needed a quick escape so they stole the first vehicle they saw – plus, they had the keys for it too. Though I admit they were quite fast. It was barely five minutes since I had bumped into the woman…"

"You're right, sir," Tasha agreed, "but what shall we tell ACP sir? To think two smugglers managed to steal our bike!"

Abhijeet sighed as he felt a raging headache approach him – he did not need ACP sir's reprimands now, he knew this was another gross mistake, but it would be inevitable.

"We shall tell them everything as it happened. In fact, you will contact both, the police station and the Bureau, and tell them about our encounter with the smugglers and the fact that they have our bike."

"Right away, sir!"

* * *

Needless to say, ACP Pradyuman was livid.

"Under your very noses!" He spoke in a calm voice that belied his anger, "They managed to steal our vehicle under your watchful eye! What do the both of you have to say about it? Especially you, Abhijeet!"

Tasha and Abhijeet remained quiet. This was expected and well deserved. After ACP Pradyuman finished venting his anger, he told them to get back to the murder case and solve it, while a side investigation on the smugglers was to be begun. Now that they'd stolen a CID bike, it was like a challenge to them.

CID would not overlook this blatant disrespect and crime that had taken place under their watch. They would bring those smugglers to justice!

* * *

The main question that bothered Daya was – why did they steal that bike? If transportation was required, they could have easily gotten it. Buses, taxis, trains, auto-rickshaws – Mumbai had the best transportation facilities. Why then, did they steal a bike from two strangers?

And the only answer he could come up with was – coincidence. The woman simply happened to bump into Abhijeet and the keys fell out his pocket by accident. Also, it did not take five minutes to start a bike. So, they had plenty of time to leave before Abhijeet and Tasha returned. Yet, they'd just barely mounted and started the bike when the CID officers had arrived.

So, the conclusion was this: a sudden summons from their Boss or an urgent call or an unknown factor must have alerted them and required them to flee from that area. Grabbing the opportunity that presented itself in the form of bike keys, they'd bolted.

Turning to Tasha; the only other person left in the bureau, the rest having left to solve the current case; Daya asked her to explain what they'd found out about the strange woman-smuggler.

"As Abhijeet sir suggested," Tasha began, "we asked about the slums. No one seemed to recognise the woman or man – well, our descriptions were not very accurate either. However, an old couple did mention that two newcomers had moved into a tiny house a few lanes down. We checked it out but it was locked and decided to leave it for later – then, well, we returned to make our reports for the current case. We did tell the police about it, of course, and they must have investigated it by now."

Daya nodded thoughtfully at that. Then, getting off his comfortable chair, he headed towards the Archive and returned a few minutes later with a file.

"Let's re-acquaint ourselves with this case and then go check out that house for ourselves," Daya told Tasha as he reclaimed his seat.

And with that, they got down to work. Their study of the file and research from the criminal database yielded the following results –

· The gang specialised in smuggling and high level thefts.

· The loot was either sent out of the country or sold within the borders itself, for black money.

· It was assumed that there were six members, four males and two females.

· All middle-aged people and identities unknown.

· The name of one female was presumed to be 'Purvi' as it was tattooed across her wrist.

Apart from that, all the members had been spotted at least once – either on security cameras (which was rare, they were usually too skilled for that) or by the security guards and police. From these few sightings, they'd managed to get photographs of them, though most of them had to be taken from the footages of a security camera and then edited and cleared for better visuals.

Pulling out the photocopies of the pictures, the two officers glanced through them.

One of them was quite tall and well-tanned from what little skin that could be seen. A black mask covered his eyes and nose, revealing a moustache above his lips. His fingers were adorned with multiple rings on both hands.

"This is the only photo we have of this guy." Daya said, "Also; he seems to be the brains of the group. The file says that he does very little actual stealing or smuggling, usually standing guard and co-ordinating the other members' entry and exit. He might be the Boss."

"Do you think the Boss will actually go on missions?" Tasha asked sceptically.

"They're a six-man group, or at least that's what the police thinks. They might need all the man-power they have." Daya tried to reason.

The second photo revealed a very burly man with side-wise parted hair that hung down like curtains beside his ears. The photo was taken as he climbed through a first storey window; clearly aiming to jump to the ground; and the pose showed his muscles very well.

"He's probably good at hand-to-hand combat," Tasha commented.

Daya nodded, he knew that the muscled man would be difficult to take down in a physical fight.

The third photo contained two men, but only their backs were displayed. All they could make out was their short cropped hair and broad shoulders that tapered off into athletic looking legs. This shot was also obtained from a CCTV camera.

"And two more men who seem to be good fighters," Tasha sighed.

"Yes, but at least it gives us a profile and their general physical appearance. Look at this one," Daya handed her the fourth photo.

That photo only showed a pair of hands – clearly feminine – as they reached into a safe to retrieve their soon-to-be loot. The photo was captured via a small hidden camera that was placed just above the safe. One hand stretched into the safe up to her elbow while the other held its door ajar. And on that hand, etched clearly onto her wrist (the little strip of skin that was seen between her black gloves and long sleeve), in neat, black cursive was the word: _Purvi._

"Yes, it gives us a name," Tasha agreed, "but unless we have some other leads, it is basically useless."

"The police have more information," Daya reminded her, "we only have the case's basic details. The police are meant to be on this case, not the CID, remember? We're only getting involved because of pride. They insulted us by stealing our bike –"

"And no one insults ACP Pradyuman or his CID team and gets away free," Tasha completed with a slight grin.

Daya grinned back, "Correct."

The last two photographs also looked like it had been taken from a footage. Both featured the same woman with brown hair that had been tied into a bun. A black mask covered her upper face too. The first photo showed her climbing up with a rope towards a railing of a window of large bungalow, while the other showed her in mid-motion as she executed a back-flip and landed inside the balcony.

"That's that, then," Daya said as he packed the photos back into their envelope, "Let's go to that house and search it thoroughly. And present ourselves at the police station too."

"What for?" Tasha questioned quizzically.

"To file an FIR for the bike…" Daya replied with slight distaste, "It will be humiliating to tell the police that the CID got stolen from, but we have to do it nonetheless. They're going to laugh about this behind our backs for months – I'm sure of it."

"Well, we can get them back when we solve this case before they do, then," Tasha vowed.

And uncaring about how childish the last part of their conversation turned out to be, the two officers marched out of the Bureau with steely determination.

* * *

 **AN: Thanks for reading! Hope I'm still up to the mark...juggling stories from two different fandoms along with exams is becoming hectic...  
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 **Also, the huge talk between Daya and the ACP may seem pointless, but actually plays a role later. Any plot holes you may find are going to be filled up, no worries!**

 **Topaz007 (UndoubtedlyTheWine) - Sorry for the wait, even though I've been promising you an update :( I hope you liked this chapter!**

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 **To karan - Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying the story!**

 **To aditi - Thanks for reviewing! Ah...my favourite guest reviewer :) I'm so sorry to keep you waiting! Hope you liked this chapter!**

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 **I know my apologies are inadequate, but I'll try to update sooner next time! Also, special thanks to Topaz for her continuous prompts that guiltily reminded me of my promise to write a DaReya story for her... here's hoping I'm doing a helf-decent job at it!**

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 **Please leave a review!**


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